Photo: Seal Returns To Sheepshead Bay

Okay, guys. It’s time to name this little bugger. He looks like the same fellow that was hanging out at the Miramar Yacht Club in February, and probably a relative of the GPS-cyborg-seal chilling on Brighton Beach last month. This time, Franz (I’m naming him Franz until we’ve come to a consensus) was soaking in some rays near Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club’s marina at 3076 Emmons Avenue. Reader Dave Janicki, who sent the photo, said he also saw Franz yesterday, swimming about the bay.

This proves it: Sheepshead Bay has it all when it comes to water. And by all, I mean swans and seals. We’ve got swans and seals. And sewage. Swans, seals and sewage.

There was a great article in the recent March 21st edition of ‘The New Yorker’ by Ian Frazier (wonderful writer) about the return of seals to our local waters, including those spotted under the Verrazano and a retired guy from the NY Aquarium that narrates seal-watching cruises out of the Rockaways. Here’s a link to a summary of the article (but the full piece makes for a much better read, especially the history behind seals in the area):